Kristi's General Tso

General Tso

To feed two people generously, you need 2 large (Masellis sized) or 3 small chicken thighs, de-skinned and boned, cut into bit sizes.

Place chicken in a bowl to marinate for 30 minutes. Marinade is 1 egg white, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sake. You can probably use white wine..but I'm using sake as a substitute for Chinese cooking wine as it is.

In another bowl combine 1/3 cup of flour, 1/3 cup of cornstarch (or panko, Nick prefers cornstarch, I think they are both good but different), and 1/2 tsp baking soda. 100% flour is ok, but not as fluffy and crispy.

Combine the flour mixture with the chicken, gently mix just until everything is coated (you don't want over mix and create a paste, doesn't stick as well to the chicken). I use canola oil, just over medium heat, about an inch of it in a deep wide pan to fry. I do it in two batches, keep the cooked ones in a warm oven on a cookie sheet or foil. They only take a few minutes, I've never timed it, but you'll be able to judge when they get golden.

Sauce: I did not have Chinese cooking wine, or Chinese black vinegar. I would love to try this with those ingredients, but the substitutions work really well.

In a small saucepan over low-medium heat combine: 4 tbsp soy sauce 2 tsp balsamic vinegar (or Chinese black vinegar) 4 tbsp sake (or Chinese cooking wine) 2 tsp oyster sauce 6 tbsp of icing sugar - you can probably use white or brown, but the recipe called for this and it works 1 tbsp of cornstarch

Still and heat until thickened. Pour over the chicken to coat, or use as a dipping sauce. Serve with vegetable fried rice and never order from the Mandarin again...not that anyone has done that.